2017 Künstler Hochheimer Hölle Riesling Erstes Gewächs

Community Tasting Notes (2) Avg Score: 90 points

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  9/24/2023 - honest bob wrote: 90 Points

  From 75cl screwcap. Leaving aside Stuart Piggot's ridiculous 98P rating, not to mention his—alas—typically overstated, but now canonized, TN, this is an excellent wine, all the same. Six years after the vintage shouldn't be long for a German Riesling, let alone one from the hallowed soils of Hochheim, but this bottle, bought from the producer, never moved since from perfect storage, and sealed with the best technology available (screwcap, yay!) is now fully mature, perhaps even beginning its decline. All the good stuff previously noted on 12.03.2023, but just further down the road and gradually fading. Medium-dark gold colour; ripe petrol-tinged scent; big bitter-mineral palate in balance between fully-mature sweetness and acidity; heavy, dropping finish. Compared to several delicious bottles of Künstler's basic 2015 Hölle (previously it would have been called "Kabinett trocken") recently tasted, a wine now just starting to decline from its gorgeous peak in +-2022, this GG is thicker, heavier, richer, in no way inferior, but definitely less aromatic, less lithe, more bitter and concentrated, over twice the price, and—for me—less pleasurable at dinnertime. 89–90P

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  3/12/2023 - honest bob wrote: 90 Points

  From 75cl screwcap, opened but not decanted 1 hour. Already drinkable, but still v. young. The relatively restrained scent hints at Hölle-apricot, but the hefty, emollient entry is a surprise. Much more thickly-packed, darker, dense-textured, even dense-thick than the basic Hölle trocken bottling, but I'm not sure the additional concentration does the wine good, or indeed is worth the 100% higher price. Then: unexpectedly bright, almost petillant on the mid-palate. Lifted acidity, many gently hints of tropical fruit, which may come through more clearly in full maturity (2028?) For the meantime, this is terrific wine, if not my personally prefered style of Hochheimer. 90P(+?)

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